Marseille midfielder Joey Barton apologises to his team-mates for first red card but vents on Twitter

Marseille midfielder Joey Barton has apologised to his team-mates for his red
card in last night's 1-0 Ligue 1 loss at home to lowly Nancy, and admitted
he was "partly responsible" for the shock result.

Sending off: Marseille's midfielder Joey Barton is given a red card during their League One game against NancyPhoto: AP

The 30-year-old was shown two yellow cards in the space of five second-half minutes to leave Marseille facing an uphill struggle at the Stade Velodrome.

And an own goal from Andre Ayew capped off a miserable evening for the title hopefuls, who remain six points behind leaders Paris St Germain.

Barton, who is on loan from QPR, said on his team's website "I am very disappointed. I am partly responsible for this loss.

"I have to apologise to my team-mates. The referee made his decisions, but I don't think either of my tackles were too dangerous."

But his Twitter feed appeared to tell a different story, with Barton tweeting "Players who roll around when nobody touches them should be subsequently banned. I hate cheats. Authorities should address it."